Posted on March 12, 2009

Obama Grants Two More Lobbyists Waivers

Ian Swanson, The Hill, March 10, 2009

President Obama has issued waivers allowing two appointees who were formerly registered lobbyists to work for his administration.

The waivers ensure the two appointees can work for the administration under his executive order on ethics, which was intended to reform the revolving door between K Street and the government.

The waivers were provided for Jocelyn Frye, director of policy and projects in the Office of the First Lady, and Cecilia Munoz, director of intergovernmental affairs in the executive office of the president. The two waivers were announced on the White House blog Tuesday evening, which said the exceptions were granted under a “public interest” exemption of the executive order on ethics.

Munoz was a senior vice president for the National Council of La Raza, where she supervised all legislative and advocacy activities on the state and local levels. Munoz was heavily involved in the immigration battles in Congress in recent years, and is now a principal liaison to the Hispanic community for the administration.

Before joining the administration, Frye served as general counsel at the National Partnership for Women & Families, where she directed the group’s workplace fairness program. The White House blog said Frye, an expert on employment law, had worked with federal agencies as a technical expert, and had testified before Congress and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on federal enforcement of employment discrimination laws.

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